0
0
was successfully added to your cart.

Cart

Aug 27 2014
2

Minnesota Brass this week: DCA World Championships!

By | Drum & Bugle Corps | 2 Comments
Photo: Marissa Moeller

Photo: Marissa Moeller

Minnesota Brass is excited to be competing in the 2014 DCA World Championships in Rochester, N.Y. this weekend.  Whether you’ll be with us in person or following us from afar, here’s everything you need to know about what the corps will be doing and where it will be in the coming days. In addition, we have a Fan’s Guide that’s neatly contained on one sheet for you to print out, which you can find here.

Wednesday, Aug. 27

Buses depart the Kmart in Oakdale (7191 10th St N, Oakdale; just off of I-694). We’ll be stopping along the way to pick up members in River Falls and Madison, Wis., and Chicago, plus meal and bathroom breaks.

Thursday, Aug. 28

The buses are scheduled to arrive at the Doubletree hotel in Rochester (1111 Jefferson Rd., Rochester; phone 1-585-475-1510, fax 1-585-427-8673) at 3 p.m. Members are on their own for dinner. Then everyone will gather in the parking lot from 6-9 p.m. for a light rehearsal and complete standstill performance of our show, “Supernova.” All guests are welcome. Oh, and the rehearsal attire theme is “tacky” (a la Weird Al).

Friday, Aug. 29

The corps will rehearse from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. at Badgerow Park (4614 Dewey Ave., Rochester). The rehearsal attire theme is “America” — or, as everyone in the corps says, ” ‘Merica!” Once the buses arrive back at the hotel around 7 p.m., members have the evening off.

Saturday, Aug. 30

Photo: Eric Molho

Photo: Eric Molho

We’re back at Badgerow Park from 8-10:30 a.m. for a short morning rehearsal. The rehearsal attire theme is section pride (hornline, guard, percussion). After a break for lunch and show preparation, we’ll leave the park at 12:30 p.m. and arrive at Sahlen’s Stadium (460 Oak St., Rochester) for our Prelims performance. Minnesota Brass is seeded No. 3 and goes on at 3:22 p.m. After Prelims conclude, buses will depart the stadium at 4:45 p.m. There is a mandatory full corps meeting — all staff, support staff, performers — at the hotel from 5-6 p.m. at which we will review the schedule for Sunday and provide other critical information. Members have the evening off and are free to attend the Individual & Ensemble and Mini Corps Competition at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center (123 E. Main St, Rochester). Our own Minne-Brass goes on at 10 p.m. This year, DCA is adding a feature in which the fans can vote for their favorite mini corps.

Sunday, Sept. 1

The corps will rehearse at Badgerow Park from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The rehearsal attire theme is Minnesota Brass apparel — aka “Let’s kick some Brass.” Members will return to the hotel at 3:45 p.m. to shower and eat. Buses will leave for the stadium at 6 p.m. Details for the evening’s schedule will be set based on the results of Prelims. (If you aren’t going to be in Rochester, you can watch Finals online via the DCA Fan Network, hosted by Steve Rondinaro and including an interview with our very own executive director, Eric Molho.) Buses will leave the stadium at 1 a.m. (Monday), and then it’s back to Minnesota.

Monday, Sept. 2

If everything goes as planned, the buses should arrive back in Oakdale around 4 p.m. What a season!

Aug 26 2014
2

Minnesota Brass performers seek the perfect ‘bari/euphie’

By | Drum & Bugle Corps | No Comments

20140823_200836What do you get when you cross a selfie with a baritone/euphonium section? Why, a “bari/euphie,” of course.

Minnesota Brass’ bari/euph members have taken a photo of themselves before or after almost every performance this season. For the performers, the photos they’ve captured are more than an exercise in vanity.

“I like doing the bari/euphies because it’s a fantastic bonding experience,” says Jennifer Keller-Peterson, a high school senior from River Falls, Wis., who’s in her second year with the corps. “And it connects to the corps song, ‘For All We Know,’ in the sense that ‘for all we know’ we may actually never see or march with the people we have to create friendships with again. Which is another reason why I love the bari/euphies, because they capture one of many memories of the 2014 bari/euph line.”

Seasoned veteran David Anderson, an IS supervisor at Polaris Industries, agrees.

“These bari-euphies are a nice snapshot in time,” he says. “As someone who is now on his 14th season with the corps and started marching before members of the section were even born, the marching seasons really start to bleed together. Having these pictures taken leads to great trips down memory lane in future years, when you can have those discussions surrounding ‘I remember these!’ or ‘Who was this person?’ ”

The major challenges the bari/euphies have posed have been gathering everyone together in mere seconds without compromising the entire hornline’s routine and then getting everyone in the picture. The latter actually hasn’t happened yet. The closest was the most recent bari/euphie at the District 11 Preview in Blaine, where one take had 15 of the 16 members and the next take had the missing person but cut out someone else.

If everything goes right, the shot should include baris Anderson, Jacob Welle, Tony Peterson, John Roy, David Schuck, Andrew Fedje and Tanner Bergersen; euphs Keller-Peterson, Sam Springer, Lucas Frafjord,  Jess Belcher, Peter Eklund, Joshua Langlois, Chris Reid, Shelby Ernst, Mark Walentiny; drum majors Nancy Terry and Kimberly Reid; and tech (and photo taker) Randy Salas. That’s 19 people, not counting the occasional photo-bomber.

As Minnesota Brass performs at the DCA World Championships this weekend in Rochester, N.Y., members of its bari/euph section will continue their quest for the perfect bari/euphie.

Response code is 404
Aug 25 2014
0

Members’ diary: Final hometown run

By | Drum & Bugle Corps | No Comments
Minnesota Brass performs at the District 11 Preview. (Photo: Megan Harms)

Minnesota Brass performs at the District 11 Preview. Photo by student Megan Harms, who tweeted: “just saw @MinnesotaBrass play for the first time. their sound is siiick!!!!”

The final hometown rehearsals and performance for Minnesota Brass’ 2014 season are in the history books. The corps started the weekend with a Friday night rehearsal at Chaska High School and then moved to the National Sports Center in Blaine for camp days Saturday and Sunday, taking a break Saturday night to perform “Supernova” for hundreds of band students nearby at the District 11 Preview. This week, the corps heads out to Rochester, N.Y. for the DCA World Championships. More scheduling details will be posted soon. But first, here’s a look at what our members were saying about their incredible experiences over the past few days:

https://twitter.com/marissamoeller/status/503292684422107139

https://twitter.com/marissamoeller/status/503689123547582464

Aug 19 2014
0

Minnesota Brass this week: Final hometown rehearsals

By | Drum & Bugle Corps | No Comments

Time is running out to catch Minnesota Brass in action on our home turf. As the competitive season draws to a close, the corps will be working hard to prepare for the DCA World Championships in Rochester, N.Y., over Labor Day weekend. Alumni, friends and family are invited to visit the corps during these upcoming events, all of which are open to guests.

Wednesday evening, Aug. 20

Color guard at twilight, Eagan. (Photo: Dave Pratt)

Color guard at twilight, Eagan. (Photo: Dave Pratt)

Regular Wednesday evening rehearsal from 6-10 p.m. at the old Lockheed Martin site (3333 Pilot Knob Rd., Eagan). (Sectionals run from 6-8:30 p.m.; full corps from 8:30-10 p.m.)

Friday evening, Aug. 22

Chaska High School stadium

Chaska High School stadium

The full corps will rehearse at Chaska High School (545 Pioneer Trail, Chaska) from 6-10 p.m. (Sectionals run from 6-8:30 p.m.; full corps in the stadium from 8:30-10 p.m.)

Saturday, Aug. 23

maps_large

National Sports Center, Blaine

The full corps will rehearse at the National Sports Center (1700 105th Ave NE, Blaine) from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The exact field location is to be determined, but just follow the sound of the horns and percussion.

Blaine High School

Blaine High School

On Saturday night, the corps will perform in uniformed exhibition for the District 11 Preview Show, 7-9 p.m. at Blaine High School (12555 University Ave NE, Blaine). Minnesota Brass is scheduled to perform at 8:30 p.m. Come support the District 11 marching bands as they begin their season and cheer on Minnesota Brass as our season concludes. The corps’ souvenir booth also will be there, so be sure to stock up on our latest merchandise. Tickets are $5, and all proceeds support the bands.

Sunday, Aug. 24

Minnesota Brass performs "Supernova."

Minnesota Brass performs “Supernova.”

The full corps will be back at the National Sports Center (exact field location to be determined) from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (sectionals from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; full corps rehearsal from 2-5 p.m.). This rehearsal will feature our last performance of “Supernova” — a non-uniform run-through — in Minnesota. You don’t want to miss it.

Aug 17 2014
0

Members’ diary: Minnesota Brass wows home-state crowds

By | Drum & Bugle Corps | No Comments
Minnesota Brass performs Aug. 15 at the Sounds of Minnesota show in Mendota Heights, Minn.

Minnesota Brass performs Aug. 15 at the Sounds of Minnesota show in Mendota Heights, Minn.

As weekends go for Minnesota Brass, it doesn’t get much better than performing in two important competitions so close to home. That’s how the drum and bugle corps spent the past few days, and the results for its “Supernova” program were out of this world. Not only were the Minnesota crowds blown away by this year’s space-themed show, but so were the judges. Minnesota Brass now sits firmly placed among the upper echelon of competitors as the corps rounds the corner to the DCA championships in Rochester, N.Y., over Labor Day weekend.

That doesn’t mean Minnesota Brass members weren’t also having fun as they worked to hone their show. Check out what they had to say on Twitter during down time for Friday’s rehearsal and show in the Twin Cities and Saturday’s rehearsal in Jordan and show in St. Peter — everyone from new members like color guard performer Erika Kooda, a Spirit of Atlanta alumnus and college student in Chicago who joined Minnesota Brass just a month ago, to seasoned veterans like drum major Nancy Terry, who’s been with the corps for nine years.

https://twitter.com/marissamoeller/status/500324105619800066

https://twitter.com/marissamoeller/status/500627502197665792

https://twitter.com/marissamoeller/status/500759996930732032

Here’s to more great shows and good times in the coming weeks.